churches

The Czech government has agreed, after almost two decades of dispute, to compensate churches for properties confiscated under communist rule, and also to make them financially independent from the state. The details are being sorted.

A unique gathering of high level church leaders starting on Tuesday 6 November 2007 near Nairobi, Kenya, features the broadest range of Christian traditions ever represented at a global meeting, says its organisers.

A Christian church in central Jerusalem which is used by several different groups survived an arson attack last week as a result of prompt action by Jewish neighbours who called the emergency services and stopped the potentially lethal fire spreading.

This week (21-28 October 2007) is One World Week - an opportunity for people from a variety of faith backgrounds and none to highlight justice and peace issues arising from the local and the global, as we encounter it on a daily basis.

The church should take a lead in providing a vision of a better world for today’s children and young people, according to a youth work expert writing on the cover of the Baptist Times today. She says change is needed in individuals and communities.

Churches, voluntary organisations and the local council in Sheffield have come together to declare the city a place of welcome for asylum seekers and refugees. They aim to improve policy coordination and to challenge public misperceptions.

Top United Methodist leaders in the USA are among the church and community leaders are calling on the Congress to override a presidential veto of a bill that would expand a poor children's health insurance programme to be funded by a tax on cigarettes.

Clergy who usually wear dog collars in public are being advised by a safety group to take them off when they are on their own, to reduce the risk of being attacked. But others believe security consciousness should not undermine the character of Christian service.